Device for attaching a hair enhancer to a person&#39;s hair and hair enhancement apparatus incorporating same

ABSTRACT

A device usable for attaching a hair enhancer to a person&#39;s hair and a hair enhancement apparatus incorporating such a device include a strip of flexible material, at least one hair clip attached to a first side of the strip of material, and an adhesive layer attached to a second side of the strip of material. The adhesive layer facilitates attachment of the device to a hair enhancer, such as a hair extension. The strip of material may be sized and shaped to accommodate one hair clip or a plurality of hair clips (e.g., a row of hair clips). The attachment device may also include a backing paper affixed to a side of the adhesive layer which is to be attached to the hair enhancer. In such a case, the backing paper may be removable by a user to enable the adhesive layer to be attached to the hair enhancer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) upon U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/342,532, entitled “Clip Strip” andfiled on Apr. 14, 2010, solely to the extent of the subject matterdisclosed in said provisional application, which application isincorporated herein by this reference as if fully set forth herein. Thisapplication also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) upon U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/404,210, entitled “Clip Strip” andfiled on Sep. 30, 2010, solely to the extent of the subject matterdisclosed in said provisional application, which application isincorporated herein by this reference as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of hair enhancementproducts and, more particularly, to a device for attaching a hairenhancer to a user's hair and a hair enhancement apparatus incorporatingsuch a device.

2. Description of Related Art

Hair extensions and other hair enhancers have been used for a long timein the beauty and fashion industries. Many users outside of these areasalso use hair extensions because naturally growing hair to a desiredlength may require a long period of time. Other individuals havesuffered hair loss for various reasons and wish to acquire or maintaintheir desired hair styles with wigs, toupees, and other hair enhancers.

Hair extensions are manufactured from either a synthetic material ornatural hair. Several methods of attachment have been used for affixinghair extensions and other hair enhancement devices to a user's naturalhair. One such method is to manually spread a liquid adhesive onto thehair extensions to attach the hairs of the hair extensions to the user'snatural hair. Another method is to sew hair extensions into a person'snatural hair. Both methods can be time consuming, damaging to the user'snatural hair, and difficult to remove from the user's hair.

An additional method of hair extension attachment is to use one or morehair clips. In this case, the hair clips are manually sewn into abacking seam (known as a “weft”), a weave, or a polyurethane backing ofthe hair extension to allow the hair extension to be manually attachedand detached from a user's natural hair, as desired by the user. Thus,this attachment technique is cumbersome because the end user must seweach individual hair clip by hand or machine to the hair extension.Nevertheless, professional stylists often attach hair clips toextensions by sewing or otherwise attaching the clips to the extensionsso as to customize the extensions for the consumer's needs.

Other hair extensions can be purchased having hair clips pre-sewn intothe extensions. However, pre-sewn extensions do not always have the hairclips located at the most advantageous positions for the style, comfort,or look that is desired by the user. Nevertheless, most consumer hairextensions have pre-sewn clips.

A final method for attaching hair extensions to a user's hair is to usea double-sided tape. This hair extension attachment method is a more ofa long term or semi-permanent attachment technique, as it can be wornfor several weeks to months and must be removed with acommercially-available adhesive remover product. However, this method isnot recommended when only a quick, daily use of an extension is desired.

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the background artarea of hair extensions and hair products, there is a need for a hairenhancer attachment device and associated hair enhancement apparatusthat facilitate quick and easy attachment of the attachment device to ahair enhancer, as well as facilitate easy attachment and detachment ofhair enhancers to and from a users' hair.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A first objective of the present invention is to provide a device thatincludes hair clips attached to a flexible material.

A second objective of the present invention is to provide an attachablestrip of a thin material, such as polyurethane or lace, to which hairclips are attached to aid in the installation of a hair enhancer, such ahair extension, an integration piece, a hairpiece, or a wig, to a user'shair.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide flexibility toowners of semi-permanent/long-term use hair enhancers, such as adhesivetape hair extensions, by enabling the owners to temporarily converttheir semi-permanent hair enhancers to temporary (e.g., daily use)clip-in enhancers through use of a device that includes hair clipsattached to a thin film to aid in the attachment and removal of the hairenhancer. For example, the attachment device may be secured to theadhesive tape of semi-permanent hair extensions to at least temporarilyconvert the extensions to clip-in extensions.

These together with other objectives are met by embodiments of thepresent invention, along with various features of novelty thatcharacterize these embodiments, which are pointed out with particularityin the remainder of this application. For a better understanding of thepresent invention, reference should be had to the accompanying drawingsand descriptive matter in which there is disclosed preferred andalternative embodiments.

Generally, the present invention encompasses a device usable forattaching a hair enhancer to a person's hair and a hair enhancementapparatus incorporating such a device. According to one embodiment, theattachment device includes a strip of flexible material, at least onehair clip attached to a first side of the strip of material, and anadhesive layer attached to a second side of the strip of material. Theadhesive layer facilitates attachment of the device to the hairenhancer, which may be, for example, a hair extension, a wig, a toupee,a hairpiece, or an integration piece. The strip of material may be sizedand shaped to accommodate one hair clip or a plurality of hair clips(e.g., a row of hair clips). Additionally, the strip of material may bepolyurethane, lace, or any other type of flexible support materialcapable of supporting a predetermined quantity of hair clips. The hairclip(s) may be attached to the adhesive layer using an adhesive, bysewing, or by other means. Additionally, the adhesive layer may beimplemented using a double-sided tape or other adhesive material.

According to another embodiment, the attachment device may also includea backing paper affixed to a side of the adhesive layer which is to beattached to the hair enhancer. In this case, the backing paper may beremovable by a user of the device to enable the adhesive layer to beattached to the hair enhancer.

According to another embodiment, the attachment device may be combinedwith a hair enhancer to form a hair enhancer apparatus. As one exampleof this embodiment, the attachment device may be pre-attached to thehair enhancer and supplied as a combined apparatus to provide an easilyattachable and detachable hair enhancer. Alternatively, the hairenhancer apparatus may be formed by attaching the aforementionedattachment device to a conventional hair enhancer.

According to one embodiment, the attachment device disclosed hereinprovides a quick and simple way to convert an existing adhesive hairextension into a clip-in hair extension, without having to sew orotherwise secure each individual clip onto the extension. The clips canalso be added to hair extensions or other hair enhancers that do nothave adhesive attachments. In one embodiment, the hair clips are sewn orotherwise adhered to a thin flexible strip of material that comes with aremovable lining on the adhesive side of the device. The liner may besimply removed to allow the attachment device (sometimes referred tobelow as a “clip strip”) to be applied to an existing hair extension,which may come with or without adhesive. While the discussion belowfocuses on the use of the attachment device with hair extensions, oneskilled in the art will readily recognize and appreciate that theattachment device may be used with or incorporated into other hairenhancers, such as wigs, toupees, and integration pieces; therefore, thediscussion below with regard to hair extensions is meant to be anexample and not a limitation.

The attachment device disclosed herein may be customized to match upwith various sizes of existing hair extensions, such as, for example andnot by way of limitation, sizes from approximately 3¾″×4″, ¼″×3″, 2″×2″,1″×2″, ¼″×1½″, or others. Additionally, because the attachment device isindependent of the hair enhancer, the device may be positioned on thehair enhancer as desired by the user to obtain the most comfortable andsecure placement, as well as a desired style, beauty and fit.

In addition to hair extensions, some users may also wish to use theattachment device to secure wigs, integration pieces, and band pieces toa users' hair. The clip strips would allow users to customize theapplication of these types of hair enhancers, while permittingrelatively easy removal of these pieces for changing styles, forcleaning, and for users who find a semi-permanent hair enhancementdevice uncomfortable.

The present invention also provides users that have excessive top headhair thinning or baldness with a simple option for modifying existinghairpieces as their hair consistency changes. For example, theattachment device of the present invention enables users to customizetheir hairpieces as the users' hair grows in from chemotherapy, forexample. Inexpensive customization of existing hairpieces is animportant benefit of the attachment device of the present invention dueto the typically expensive nature of many hairpieces.

No hair enhancer attachment devices or hair enhancers are presentlyknown to include an adhesive attached to a thin strip of material towhich is sewn or otherwise attached one or more hair clips. The presentinvention allows for quick and easy installation of a hair enhancerattachment device to a hair enhancer, as well as easy installation andremoval of a hair extension or other hair enhancer to and from a user'shair. The present invention also creates a more versatile hair enhancerfor the end user and better enables hair enhancer customization by usersand professional stylists.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate viewsand which together with the detailed description below are incorporatedin and form part of the specification, serve to further illustratevarious embodiments and to explain various principles and advantages allin accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a front view of an attachment device for a hair enhancer, inaccordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a greatly exaggerated end view of the attachment device ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front view of an attachment device for a hair enhancer, inaccordance with an alternative exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of a hair enhancer apparatus in accordance withone exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a rear view of a hair enhancer apparatus in accordance with analternative exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures areillustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily beendrawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements inthe figures may be exaggerated alone or relative to other elements tohelp improve the understanding of the various embodiments of the presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Before describing in detail exemplary embodiments that are in accordancewith the present invention, it should be observed that the embodimentsreside primarily in combinations of apparatus components related toimplementing an article of jewelry, such as a bracelet, and a claspingmechanism therefor. Accordingly, the components have been representedwhere appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing onlythose specific details that are pertinent to understanding theembodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosurewith details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill inthe art having the benefit of the description herein.

In this document, relational terms, such as “first” and “second,” “top”and “bottom,” “front” and “rear,” and the like are used solely todistinguish one entity or element from another entity or element withoutnecessarily requiring or implying any physical or logical relationshipor order between such entities or elements. The terms “comprises,”“comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “contains,” “containing,” “has,”“having,” and/or any other variations thereof are intended to cover anon-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, orapparatus that comprises, includes, contains, or has a list of elements,characteristics, or features does not include only those elements,characteristics, or features but may include other elements,characteristics, or features not expressly listed or inherent to suchprocess, method, article, or apparatus. The term “plurality of” as usedin connection with any object or action means two or more of such objector action. A claim element proceeded by the article “a” or “an” doesnot, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additionalidentical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus thatincludes the element.

Referring to the drawings in detail, there is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 oneexemplary embodiment of a device 12 usable for attaching a hair enhancerto a person's hair. The attachment device 12 (which is sometimesreferred to a “clip strip”) includes a thin, flexible strip of material16, which defines a first, front side and a second, opposing back side(shown in FIG. 2). One or more hair clips 14 are attached to the frontside of the strip of material 16, and an adhesive layer 18 is attachedto the back side of the strip of material 16. The clip strip 12 shown inthe embodiment of FIG. 1 includes two hair clips 14 attached to thestrip 16. The hair clips 14 may be conventional hair clips, such as aretypically sewn or weaved into the weft of conventional hair extensions,or any hair clips as may be developed in the future. Additionally, thehair clips 14 may have any desired number of prongs as may be selectedby the user. For example, the exemplary hair clips 14 depicted in FIG. 1are shown to include four prong; whereas, the exemplary hair clips 34illustrated in FIGS. 3-5 (as discussed below) include six prongs. Eachhair clip 14, 34 may be sewn to the clip strip 12 with thread attachingthrough attachment holes 22 in the strip of material 16 and the hairclip 14, 34, or be otherwise fastened by using an adhesive.

In one embodiment, the hair clip or clips 34 may be positioned near atop edge 11 of the strip of material 16, such as is shown in theattachment device 32 of FIG. 3, optionally leaving an empty portion ofstrip material 16 between bottoms of the hair clips 34 and a bottom edge13 of the strip of material 16. Alternatively, the hair clip or clips 14may be positioned near the bottom edge 13 of the strip of material 16,such as is shown in FIG. 1, optionally leaving an empty portion of stripmaterial 16 between tops of the hair clips 14 and the top edge 11 of thestrip of material 16. In another embodiment that includes multiple hairclips 14, 34, the hair clips 14, 34 may be arranged or aligned in a row,such as is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3.

While the clip strip 12 shown in FIG. 1 is trapezoidal in shape, oneskilled in the art will readily recognize and appreciate that the shapeof the strip of material 16 could be any other shape, such asellipsoidal, circular, rectangular, or some other custom shape,depending upon the user's specific requirements for attachment of hairextensions, wigs, toupees, hairpieces, and other hair enhancers. Theclip strip 12 could also have various corner designs, such as round orvarious angular configurations dependent upon the user's needs and theoverall shape. Further, the clip strip 12 and its associated strip ofmaterial 16 may be sized and shaped to accommodate attachment of asingle hair clip 14, 34 or a plurality of hair clips 14, 34 to the frontside of the strip of material 16. Still further, the strip of material16 may be sized and shaped to facilitate attachment of a particular hairenhancer to a person's hair. In other words, the strip of material 16may be sized and shaped to accommodate a particular hair enhancer andits intended points of attachment to a user's hair.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, the hair clips 14, 34 are attached to thefront side of the strip of material 16, which may be a thin layer ofpolyurethane, lace, fabric, or other flexible support material. The backside of the strip of material 16 is attached to the adhesive layer 18,which may be double-sided tape or other adhesive material. In analternative embodiment, a removable backing paper 20 may be affixed tothe second side of the adhesive layer 18, as illustrated in theexemplary embodiment of FIG. 2.

To use the device 12 shown in FIG. 2, a user would remove the backingpaper 20 and affix the back side of the adhesive layer 18 to part of ahair extension or other hair enhancement device. For example, as shownin FIGS. 4 and 5 in connection with three-clip embodiments of the clipstrip 12, the clip strip 12 may be attached to various portions of hairextension apparatuses, such as the weft 44 or a tape adhesive section 54of a hair extension. Once the clip strip 12 is attached to a hairenhancer, a hair enhancer apparatus is formed that can be clipped to theuser's natural hair using the hair clips 14, 34.

The clip strip 12 may be manufactured in various sizes to accommodatelonger or shorter hair extensions or other hair enhancers. For example,a clip strip 12 may be made longer than the strip 12 shown in FIGS. 1and 3, such that three or four hair clips 14, 34 are included. As notedabove, an exemplary three-clip embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and5. This longer clip strip 12 may be used on wider hair extensions.

The clip strip 12 may alternatively be manufactured in a less lengthysize, such that only one hair clip 14, 34 is included. This shorter clipstrip 12 may be used on narrower hair extensions or for custom fittinghair extensions, wigs, toupees, integration pieces, or other hairenhancers.

Hair enhancement devices, such as wigs, extensions, toupees orintegration pieces, may have various backings, such as lace,polyurethane, skin wefts, and others, and the clip strips 12 may beattached to any of these backings. In other words, a hair enhancementapparatus may be formed by attaching a clip strip 12 or equivalentattachment device to a hair enhancer. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 4, a hair enhancement apparatus 40 may be formed by attaching aclip strip 12 to the hair 42 and/or weft 44 of a hair enhancer (e.g., ahair extension). As a result, a typically more permanent hairenhancement device may be converted into a temporary enhancement devicethrough inclusion of the clip strip 12, which allows the user torepeatedly attach and detach the hair enhancer apparatus 40 to theuser's hair. Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 5, a hair enhancementapparatus 50 may be formed by attaching a clip strip 12 to the tapeadhesive section 54 of a hair extension 52 or other hair enhancer, againconverting a more permanent hair enhancement device into a temporaryenhancement device through inclusion of the clip strip 12.

The clip strips 12 could be packaged and sold individually such that anindividual who wanted to purchase hair extensions or other hairenhancers separately without the clip strips 12 could do so. The clipstrips 12 could be packaged as groups of strips 12 with a predeterminedquantity of hair clips 14, 34 on each strip 12 (e.g., one, two, three orfour hair clips 14, 34 on each strip) or the strips 12 could be packagedsuch that the package includes a single strip with a greater quantity ofhair clips 14, 34 (e.g., twenty hair clips 14, 34). In the latter case,the user would then create his or her own desired length clip strip 12by cutting off a strip with a desired quantity of hair clips 14, 34.Packaging the clip strips 12 separately from particular hair enhancerswould enable end users and professional stylists to attach one or moreclip strips 12 to any hair enhancer and thereby create a custom hairenhancement apparatus, regardless of whether the hair enhancers mayinclude other, more complicated attachment means.

Alternatively, one or more clip strips 12 may be pre-attached to a hairextension or other hair enhancer to form a hair enhancement apparatus,or may be packaged and sold together with a hair enhancer (or set ofhair enhancers) as a kit. By supplying a hair enhancement apparatus thatalready includes one or more clip strips 12, the present inventionenables the user to attach the hair enhancer to the user's hair by usingthe hair clip(s) 14, 34 of the pre-attached clip strip(s) 12 and therebyavoid having to attach the clip strip or strips 12 to the hair enhancermanually.

The present invention encompasses a device usable for attaching a hairenhancer to a person's hair and a hair enhancement apparatusincorporating such a device. With this invention, an attachment devicemay be quickly and easily added to a hair enhancer by a user or stylistto create a clip-in hair enhancement device. Thus, the attachment deviceof the present invention eliminates the need to use cumbersome methods,such as sewing in hair clips and manually applying adhesive, to make ahair enhancer ready for installation in a user's hair. Additionally, ahair extension user may choose to use hair extensions having integratedtape adhesive, or other more permanent or complicated methods ofattachment (e.g., which the user may have previously purchased with theintent of using permanently or semi-permanently), and easily convert orretrofit them to be for more temporary use by attaching the attachmentdevice 12 of the present invention to the hair extensions and thensecuring the resulting hair enhancement apparatus to the user's hairwith the attachment device's hair clip or clips 14, 34, as applicable.Alternatively, the attachment device of the present invention may be preattached to a hair enhancer to form a hair enhancement apparatus, whichmay be clipped into a user's natural hair for temporary orsemi-permanent use. Still further, the present invention facilitates auser's purchase of hair extensions and the attachment device separatelyto provide the user flexibility for using the attachment device tosecure the hair extension to the user's hair for the best fit andcomfort. Because many hair types and styles require custom extensions,the present invention provides several options for the attachment ofhair extensions to allow the user to pick and choose the bestarrangement for a desired beauty outcome, cosmetic result, or style.Finally, because the attachment device of the present invention isclip-based, the attachment device facilitates relatively easy removal ofthe extension or other hair enhancer for temporary installation of hairenhancing products.

In the foregoing specification, the present invention has been describedwith reference to specific embodiments. However, one of ordinary skillin the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention as set forth in the appended exemplary claims. Accordingly,the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrativerather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intendedto be included within the scope of the present invention.

Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have beendescribed above with regard to specific embodiments of the presentinvention. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, andany element(s) that may cause or result in such benefits, advantages, orsolutions to become more pronounced are not to be construed as acritical, required, or essential feature or element of any or all theclaims. The invention is defined solely by the appended claims includingany amendments made during the pendency of this application and allequivalents of those claims as issued.

1. A device usable for attaching a hair enhancer to a person's hair, thedevice comprising: a strip of flexible material defining a first sideand an opposing second side; at least one hair clip attached to thefirst side of the strip of material; and an adhesive layer attached tothe second side of the strip of material, the adhesive layerfacilitating attachment of the device to the hair enhancer.
 2. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the adhesive layer defines a first side andan opposing second side, wherein the first side of the adhesive layer isattached to the second side of the strip of material, the device furthercomprising: a backing paper affixed to the second side of the adhesivelayer, the backing paper being removable by a user of the device toenable the adhesive layer to be attached to the hair enhancer.
 3. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the strip of material is sized and shaped toaccommodate attachment of a single hair clip to the front side of thestrip of material.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein the strip ofmaterial is sized and shaped to accommodate attachment of a plurality ofhair clips to the front side of the strip of material.
 5. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one hair clip comprises a plurality ofhair clips.
 6. The device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of hairclips are aligned in a row.
 7. The device of claim 1, wherein the stripof material is sized and shaped to facilitate attachment of a particularhair enhancer to a person's hair.
 8. The device of claim 1, wherein thestrip of material is polyurethane.
 9. The device of claim 1, wherein theadhesive layer is double-sided tape.
 10. The device of claim 1, whereinthe at least one hair clip is fastened by adhesive to the first side ofthe strip of material.
 11. A hair enhancement apparatus that isattachable to a person's hair, the hair enhancement apparatuscomprising: a hair enhancer; and an attachment device attached to thehair enhancer, the attachment device including: a strip of flexiblematerial defining a first side and an opposing second side; at least onehair clip attached to the first side of the strip of material; and anadhesive layer attaching the second side of the strip of material to thehair enhancer.
 12. The hair enhancement apparatus of claim 11, whereinthe strip of material is sized and shaped to accommodate attachment of asingle hair clip to the first side of the strip of material
 13. The hairenhancement apparatus of claim 11, wherein strip of material is sizedand shaped to accommodate attachment of a plurality of hair clips to thefirst side of the strip of material.
 14. The hair enhancement apparatusof claim 11, wherein the at least one hair clip comprises a plurality ofhair clips.
 15. The hair enhancement apparatus of claim 14, wherein theplurality of hair clips are aligned in a row.
 16. The hair enhancementapparatus of claim 10, wherein the hair enhancer is one of a hairextension, a wig, a toupee, a hairpiece, and an integration piece. 17.The hair enhancement apparatus of claim 10, wherein the strip ofmaterial is polyurethane.
 18. The hair enhancement apparatus of claim10, wherein the adhesive layer is double-sided tape.
 19. The hairenhancement apparatus of claim 10, wherein the at least one hair clip isfastened by adhesive to the first side of the strip of material.
 20. Anattachable hair enhancement apparatus comprising: a hair extension; andan attachment device attached to the hair extension, the attachmentdevice including: a strip of flexible material defining a first side andan opposing second side; at least one hair clip attached to the firstside of the strip of material; and an adhesive layer attaching thesecond side of the strip of material to the hair extension.